Artur Davis: The Best Speech of the Night

Aug 29, 2012

RUSH: Four years ago, Artur Davis was the first congressman outside of Illinois to endorse Obama. He delivered a nominating speech at the Democrat convention in Denver that nominated Barack Obama. Now, four years later, Artur Davis shows up at the Republican convention. Mia Love was great and Ann Romney was great, don’t misunderstand. But I think this speech that Artur Davis delivered last night was just a home run. I only have three excerpts, three sound bites of it, but they are enough to get the point across.

Here’s Artur Davis saying that Obama is a mistake that has to be fixed…

DAVIS: America is the land of second chances, and I gather you have room for the estimated six million of us who got it wrong in 2008 and who want to fix it.

CONVENTION: (applause)

DAVIS: Remember, my friends, the president saying of negative politics and untrue ads, “Not this time”? Who knew “not this time” just meant, “Not unless the economy is stuck and we can’t run on our record”? … Remember when the president said of his own election, “This is the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal”? Who knew the plain English version of it was, “Middle America, get ready to shell out 60 bucks to fill up your car.”

RUSH: Artur Davis. Damn right you go after that! “This is the moment the rise of the oceans began to slow, and our planet began to heal”? We don’t need to heal the planet; we need to heal America! Here’s the next sound bite from Artur Davis, where he looked straight in the camera and spoke directly to Democrats like him.

DAVIS: To those Democrats and independents whose minds are open to argument, listen closely to the Democratic Party that will gather in Charlotte and ask yourself if you hear your voice in the clamor. Ask yourself if these Democrats still speak for you! When they say, “We have a duty to grow government even when we cannot afford it,” does it sound like compassion to you?

CONVENTION: No!

DAVIS: Or does it sound like recklessness? When you hear the party that glorified Occupy Wall Street blast success — when you hear them minimize the genius of the men and women who make jobs out of nothing — is that what you teach your children about work?

CONVENTION: No!

DAVIS: Do you even recognize the America they are talking about?

RUSH: That’s a great question. Who can possibly relate to the America these people talk about? And here’s the next bite where Artur Davis… It’s not “Arthur,” by the way. A lot of people think it’s a misprint out there and that his name is “Arthur.” It’s not. It’s “Artur.” A lot of people think that there was a misprint on his birth certificate and so he was stuck with it, but no. That’s his given name: Artur Davis.

(interruption)

Oh, that’s right. Aw, damn it! Aw, gee. Oh, I blew it. Oh, no. I’m gonna get a demerit from the RNC over in Tampa. Oh no! (sigh) They’ll send somebody out to rip me. I just said “birth certificate.” Oh, well, I can’t take it back. We’ve gone past the delay, so I can’t delete it. Is it too late to delay it? It’s too late to delay it. Aw, damn, I’m stuck with it. Well, okay, I’ll take the heat. Artur Davis, the last sound bite we have…

DAVIS: My fellow Americans, when great athletes falter, their coaches sometimes whisper to them, “Remember who you are.” It’s a call to their greatness at a moment when their bodies and spirit are too sapped to remember their strength. This sweet, blessed, God-inspired place called America is a champion that has absorbed some blows. But we bend, we do not break!

CONVENTION: (applause)

DAVIS: This is no dark hour. This is the dawn before we remember who we are!

CONVENTION: (applause)

DAVIS: So may it be said of this time in our history, “2008 to 2011, lesson learned; 2012, mistake corrected.”